Do you have a spare room in your house or flat ? Why not let it to travellers, students or tourists, so that they can soak up the culture and share a valuable exchange, whilst helping you pay the rent?

Let a homestay room

This is a new trend which is a good deal for both host and traveller. You ask for a rental fee in exchange for the accommodation provided, helping you to pay the rent, whilst meeting new people along the way.

This could be occasional rentals (where you let out your room or accommodation in order to make a bit of extra money) or it could be regular rental (if this is your main business, e.g. Guest houses, Cottages, B&Bs, Riads, Casa rurales or other, more unusual types of accommodation….)

Reservation Procedure

1. Information Exchange

The traveller and the host exchange information with each other via their Bedycasa Inbox.

2. Trust and Security when making a booking

Once trust has been established and information been exchanged, the traveller can select the date they want to stay and the number of people they will be travelling with on the host's page and click on the 'reserve' button. Bedycasa will then display the total amount due for the stay.

3. Booking validation with Bedycasa

As a security measure, administrators on BedyCasa control and validate each reservation. Once a reservation has been validated, an email is sent to the traveller and to the host.

4. Contact details sent

Only once a booking has been confirmed will the contact details of both parties (traveller/host) be sent to each other. Contact details cannot be sent or asked for before this confirmation (message moderation).

5. Host's Payment

The host will be paid the day after the traveller’s arrival. This is for security measures for both the traveller and the host.

Who can rent out a room ?

Familes and couples

As a good way to help you pay the rent and to travel from home.

Students

A good way to get to meet others and to learn and perfect other languages.

Older generations, singletons

A good way for you to have a bit of company.

Who can stay in a room at a local's ?

Students

A practical way to split the rent- often known as sub-letting: find host families offering a room to rent to students.

High School and College students

Students often to stay with a host family in a different country in order to learn and perfect a foreign language. As such, parents are invited to use this service to give their child the chance to discover another culture. Check out 'Student Profiles' via our search engine to find host families.

Erasmus/Foreign students

With there now being a huge demand world-wide, hosting foreign or Erasmus students can be really beneficial, because it allows the Erasmus student to find the best way to know the country they are spending time in, and student staying with you can practice their English or another language without even having to leave the house. Check out 'Erasmus Profiles' via our search engine to find special profiles dedicated to Erasmus.

Business trips, work experience, people working away or attending training

In order to easily find a practical and economic place to stay, a room with a local is a great option whilst looking for an appartment or when doing work experience. Check out 'Business trip Profiles' via our search engine.

Tourists

If you are looking for the most authentic way to visit a region or country, then you have the chance to do so with BedyCasa with accommodation with locals in more than 160 countries, with a large variety to accommodation types relevant to the country. It could be Riads in Morocco, Rural Casa in Spain, Gîtes in Canada, Minshuku in Japan, Bed and Breakfasts in English speaking countries, with a host family, hotel style reception, accommodation exchanges or couch-surfing. There is a vast choice and you are bound to find the formula that suits you! Check out our advanced search engine function using your choice of renting category.

What are the requirements for hosting ?

Offer a part of your personal residence to the guest as temporary accommodation

Medium and long term stays or bookings for non-consecutive nights

In case of medium or long term stays, it is possible for you to visit the property and meet the host by asking our team to send you the BedyCasa Visit Form (a form which must be signed by the host and by the traveller). BedyCasa will allow this procedure for stays longer than 30 nights in total (even if these nights are non-consecutive, e.g. ‘I would like to rent out a room on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays over 31 weeks’.

Our Customer service is open 6/7 from 9am to 8pm during the week except Fridays, it's closed at 6pm, Saturday from 9am to 12pm and from 2pm to 6pm. It's closed on Sundays.

The team deals with every enquiry to insure that the stay goes well and does its best to bring you effective and flexible assistance particularly in any case of cancellation or alteration at the last minute or any other issues linked to payment.

A multi-risk insurance is offered on the site. We strongly recommend taking this insurance in case of long term bookings.

Our commission rates vary, depending on the length of the stay:

Mid-term: 2 possible discounts:

From 31 to 60 nights: 14%

From 61 to 90 nights: 12%

Long term: longer than 91 nights: 10%

Bookings for non-consecutive nights: the same discount as in the case of long term stays when over 91 nights.

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction does not forbid anyone from hosting a third party at his/ her place (article 8-1 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms).

What's the legislation?

In order to be able to transform a housing into a tourist rental, a preliminary authorization to change its initial purpose with compensation is necessary.The law provides that an authorization accorded by the City Hall of Paris is necessary before transforming an accommodation into a short term rental for a duration less than 1 year (or 9 months for students) when the owner/landlord doesn't live in the accommodation.This authorization is not necessary however if the housing is the main residence of the owner/landlord; landlords who live in their own housing can thus rent out a space in their homes for a few weeks without asking for an authorization.

Exemption from tax

If your tenant has chosen your address as his place of residence, that is to say, if the space you're renting out to him is his domicile (a student who's staying for the school year), your income can be exempted of taxes if the amount of the rent is considered as 'moderate'. For this condition to apply, the annual rent per square meter should not be more than €177 in Ile-de-France, €129 elsewhere in France (2012).

If your tenant didn't choose your address as his place of residence, and you're leasing to him your guest room, you can be exempted from paying taxes on that income if it does not exceed €760 per year. These two exonerations can be cumulated. If your income exceeds those limits, or if your situation does not match the conditions mentionned above, your rent income will be taxable as 'industrial and commercial profit', as every furnished rent. In most of cases, you'll benefit from the 'micro industrial and commercial profit' plan and also from a fixed-sum deduction. For more information, feel free to contact your taxes center.

Recommendations

Registering at the Chamber of Commerce is not compulsory since this is not regarded as a commerical activty; however, it is highly recommended that you get in touch with your Local Authorities for further information and to find out terms and conditions.

Bedycasa does not take responsibility for any failure to register activity.

Insurance

It is highly recommended that you sign up for insurance in order to cover any possible damage that could be caused by your guest. Often, you simply need to specify to your insurer that you run a Guest House. Don’t forget to notify them of any changes made to your accommodation (e.g. central heating, additional rooms etc...).